We built our house/farm from scratch which was actually a bean field. But in 2011, we were finally ready to build our existing barn 36 x 54, which now in 2015 is not large enough. But then again what barn is.

It has been a long process and many tried and true methods to get the most bang for you buck. I hope this page you can see ideas that have worked for us and might be able to help for you.

Since this was our only barn, we knew we would need to build a loft. The loft is short and you do at times hit your head but it works. The loft has expanded and it can hold around 600 bales which is more than enough to get us though winter and with storing it above the goats it also provides some insulation. If you can build a loft, even if it only stores 20-50 bales I would suggest it because it doesn't take floor space. My other suggestion is to put wood between the pens and the metal siding so the goats don't damage the metal from the inside.

We have an outside play are for the goats which are made from all recycled wood or reduced priced lumber. We also have a few electrical spools which you can get for free. For the play area, check with your local lumber yard and at times they have bent/warped boards for sale that you can get for 1/2 price. This is the wood we used, nothing fancy and doesn't have to be sqaure just make sure they are strudy. Our older goats loving playing on these and the walk between the platforms they love.

It gets cold when having babies in Ohio winters so I made this baby heater from a 45 gallon water tote. Take the tote out of the metal section, cut the bottom out, line the bottom with 2x4's to keep it sturdy. Buy a Premier heat lamp that has grill on it and string it up threw the screw top. This tub has had up to 10 babies within it at one time. If you don't use the grill cover over the heat lamp, the kids will jump and break the bulbs.

Take the metal part and make you a hay feeder. It holds 4 square bales on their ends. I put ours on a trailer so I could move it around the pasture. I also put a sheet of plywood over it just to keep it from getting wet. It is hinged by 1/2" wire clips and held down on the frame with baling string.

JSP

I made mineral feeders out of 3" pvc pipes and hanged them on the post. Make sure you have a screw off cap at the bottom to clean them out.

Hay feeders line most of the wall, use goat panels. Cost more but the goats waste more hay with cattle panels. Place at an angel and used 2x2 with plywood to secure to the wall.

Between pens is a door which is used for water. Here the water is moved over to the side so the goats can go between cages. Note the water heater which runs on timers during cold times. You only need to run it 1 hour during the cold nights. If it stays could you can run it more. Highly suggest timers to save money.

Here I have closed the two pens with the water tub. There is kid door so kids can go from one pen to the other. The water is shared which saves time watering. Most does are in another pen which allows the kids to feed and hay. Note hay is stacked along the pen so they have all they want, grain is limited except for nursing moms.